Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227)

Marginal note:Facilities for holding and examination

• 271 (1) A commercial transporter, and a transporter who operates an airport or an international bridge or tunnel, must without cost to Her Majesty in right of Canada provide and maintain facilities, including areas, offices and laboratories, that are adequate for the proper holding and examination of persons being carried to Canada.

• Marginal note:Criteria

  (2) The facilities referred to in subsection (1) are adequate if they satisfy the applicable requirements of Part II of the Canada Labour Code, are secure and, if necessary, sterile, and include equipment and furnishings that permit officers to discharge their duties under the Act.

Marginal note:Examination on vessels

272 A commercial transporter carrying persons to Canada aboard its vessel must provide facilities aboard the vessel that permit an officer to conduct examinations.

Marginal note:Obligation to carry from Canada

• 273 (1) A commercial transporter that has carried a foreign national referred to in this subsection to Canada or caused such a foreign national to be carried to Canada must, without delay, carry the foreign national from Canada

  • (a) to any other country, in the case of a foreign national directed to leave under subsection 40(1);

  • (b) to the United States, in the case of a foreign national directed back to that country under section 41;

  • (c) to any other country, in the case of a foreign national allowed to withdraw their application under section 42; or

  • (d) to the country to which the foreign national is removed under section 241, in the case of a foreign national who is subject to an enforceable removal order.

• Marginal note:Conveyance to vehicle

  (2) The transporter must transport a foreign national who is subject to an enforceable removal order from wherever the foreign national is situated in Canada to the vehicle in which they will be carried to another country.

Marginal note:Members of a crew

• 274 (1) If a transporter carries, or causes to be carried, a foreign national to Canada as a member of its crew or to become a member of its crew, and the foreign national is subject to an enforceable removal order, the transporter must carry that foreign national from Canada to the applicable country as determined under Division 4 of Part 13.

• Marginal note:Conveyance to vehicle

  (2) The transporter must transport the foreign national referred to in subsection (1) from wherever the foreign national is situated in Canada to the vehicle in which they will be carried to another country.

Marginal note:Notification

275 A transporter must notify an officer without delay if a foreign national referred to in section 273 or 274 whom they are carrying from Canada leaves or attempts to leave a vehicle before they are carried from Canada.

Marginal note:Notifying commercial transporter

• 276 (1) When a foreign national who seeks to enter Canada is made subject to a removal order and a commercial transporter is or may be required under the Act to carry that foreign national from Canada, an officer must

  • (a) notify the commercial transporter that it is or may be required to carry the foreign national from Canada; and

  • (b) when the removal order is enforceable, notify the commercial transporter of its obligation to carry the foreign national from Canada and, if an escort is necessary, request the commercial transporter to provide an escort or to make arrangements for the carriage of an escort assigned by the Minister.

• Marginal note:Arrangements and notice

  (2) After being notified under paragraph (1)(b), the commercial transporter must, without delay,

  • (a) make arrangements to carry the foreign national from Canada and notify an officer of those arrangements; or

  • (b) notify an officer that it is unable to make such arrangements.

• Marginal note:Time period

  (3) The commercial transporter must carry the foreign national from Canada within 48 hours after giving the notice required by paragraph (2)(a).

• Marginal note:Non-compliance

  (4) If a commercial transporter does not comply with paragraph 2(a) or subsection (3) or notifies an officer that it is unable to comply with those provisions, or if an officer notifies the commercial transporter in writing that the proposed arrangements are not acceptable, an officer must cause the foreign national to be carried from Canada and the commercial transporter must pay the costs referred to in section 278.

• Marginal note:Requirements for acceptance of arrangements

  (5) To be acceptable, the arrangements referred to in subsection (2) must meet the following requirements:

  • (a) the itinerary must begin where the foreign national is situated in Canada and end in the country and city to which the foreign national is to be removed, following the most direct routing possible;

  • (b) the itinerary must not include a country through which transit has not been approved; and

  • (c) the period of time between any connections must not exceed 12 hours.

• Marginal note:Requirements for escort

  (6) A commercial transporter that has been notified under paragraph 1(b) must comply with any request by an officer to provide an escort or to arrange for the carriage of the escort assigned by the Minister.

Marginal note:Relief from obligations

277 Despite sections 273 and 276, a commercial transporter is relieved of its obligation to carry a foreign national from Canada, except for a member of its crew or a foreign national who entered Canada to become a member of its crew, if the foreign national at the time of their examination

• (a) was authorized to enter and remain in Canada on a temporary basis;

• (b) held a temporary or permanent resident visa; or

• (c) was a person prescribed under section 258.1 and the commercial transporter was not, before the person was carried to Canada, notified under section 270 that the person may have been a prescribed person.

Marginal note:Removal costs

278 A transporter that is required under the Act to carry a foreign national from Canada must pay the following costs of removal and, if applicable, attempted removal:

• (a) expenses incurred within or outside Canada with respect to the foreign national’s accommodation and transport, including penalties for changes of date or routing;

• (b) accommodation and travel expenses incurred by any escorts provided to accompany the foreign national;

• (c) fees paid in obtaining passports, travel documents and visas for the foreign national and any escorts;

• (d) the cost of meals, incidentals and other expenses as calculated in accordance with the rates set out in the Travel Directive published by the Treasury Board Secretariat, as amended from time to time;

• (e) any wages paid to escorts and other personnel; and

• (f) the costs or expenses incurred with respect to interpreters and medical and other personnel engaged for the removal.

Marginal note:Assessment of administration fee

• 279 (1) Subject to subsection (2), an administration fee must be assessed against a commercial transporter in respect of any of the following foreign nationals it carried or caused to be carried to Canada:

  • (a) a foreign national who is inadmissible under section 41 of the Act for failing to meet the requirements of section 6, subsection 7(1), section 7.01 or 7.1 or subsection 50(1) or 52(1);

  • (b) a foreign national who is prescribed under section 258.1 or whom the commercial transporter has been directed under paragraph 148(1)(a) of the Act not to carry to Canada;

  • (c) a foreign national who is exempt, under subsection 52(2), from the requirement to hold a passport or travel document but who fails to produce sufficient evidence of their identity;

  • (d) a foreign national who failed to appear for an examination on entry into Canada;

  • (e) a foreign national who entered Canada as a member of a crew or to become a member of a crew and is inadmissible; and

  • (f) a foreign national who is subject to a removal order, or is allowed under section 42 to withdraw their application to enter Canada, and who fails to leave Canada immediately.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (2) An administration fee shall not be assessed against a commercial transporter in respect of

  • (a) a person referred to in section 39;

  • (b) a foreign national who is prescribed under section 258.1 and in respect of whom notice under section 270 was not given before the foreign national was carried to Canada but who holds the necessary documents prescribed under section 259;

  • (c) a foreign national who does not hold an electronic travel authorization when one is required under section 7.01 or 7.1 and in respect of whom the Canada Border Services Agency did not give notice under section 270 to the commercial transporter before the foreign national was carried to Canada, but who holds one of the required prescribed documents set out in paragraphs 259(a) to (f); or

  • (d) a foreign national, other than a foreign national referred to in paragraph 190(3)(c), who seeks to enter Canada to obtain permanent residence and is inadmissible under paragraph 41(a) of the Act for failing to obtain a permanent resident visa as required under section 6, but who is exempted under Division 1 of Part 2 from the requirement to obtain an electronic travel authorization required under section 7.01 or 7.1 or exempted under Division 5 of Part 9 from the requirement to obtain a temporary resident visa.

  • (e) [Repealed, SOR/2016-37, s. 11]

Marginal note:Administration fee

• 280 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the administration fee assessed under section 279 is $3,200.

• Marginal note:Memorandum of understanding

  (2) If a memorandum of understanding in accordance with subsection (3) is in effect between the commercial transporter and the Minister, the administration fee assessed is

  • (a) $3,200, if the commercial transporter does not demonstrate that it complies with the memorandum of understanding, if the commercial transporter carried to Canada a foreign national who is prescribed under section 258.1 or whom the commercial transporter has been directed under paragraph 148(1)(a) of the Act not to carry to Canada, or if the administration fee is assessed in respect of a member of the crew of the transporter;

  • (b) $2,400, if the commercial transporter demonstrates that it complies with the memorandum of understanding;

  • (c) $1,600, if the commercial transporter demonstrates that it complies with the memorandum of understanding and has a number of administration fee assessments that is equal to or less than the number specified in the memorandum, for the period specified in the memorandum, for reducing the administration fee by 50%;

  • (d) $800, if the commercial transporter demonstrates that it complies with the memorandum of understanding and has a number of administration fee assessments that is equal to or less than the number specified in the memorandum, for the period specified in the memorandum, for reducing the administration fee by 75%; and

  • (e) $0, if the commercial transporter demonstrates that it complies with the memorandum of understanding and has a number of administration fee assessments that is equal to or less than the number specified in the memorandum, for the period specified in the memorandum, for reducing the administration fee by 100%.

• Marginal note:Content of memorandum of understanding

  (3) A memorandum of understanding referred to in subsection (2) shall include provisions respecting

  • (a) document screening;

  • (b) the training of personnel in document screening;

  • (c) the use of technological aids;

  • (d) fraud prevention;

  • (e) gate checks;

  • (f) information exchange;

  • (g) performance standards and administration fee assessments;

  • (h) compliance monitoring of the provisions of the memorandum of understanding;

  • (i) holding documents under section 260;

  • (j) providing information referred to in subsections 269(1) and (2);

  • (k) stowaways; and

  • (l) security screening of members of a crew.

Marginal note:Notice of assessment

• 281 (1) The assessment of an administration fee shall be served personally, by registered mail, by facsimile with acknowledgement of receipt or by electronic transmission on a representative of the commercial transporter.

• Marginal note:Service effected

  (2) Service of the assessment by registered mail is deemed to have been effected on the seventh day after the day on which the assessment was mailed.

Marginal note:Submissions concerning assessment

• 282 (1) The commercial transporter may submit written submissions to the Minister within 30 days after being served with an assessment of an administration fee.

• Marginal note:Final decision and notice

  (2) If submissions are made, the Minister must consider the submissions, confirm, vary or cancel the assessment and give written notice of the final decision to the commercial transporter.

• Marginal note:Elements considered

  (2.1) In considering the submissions, the Minister must take into account whether the commercial transporter was, before the foreign national was carried to Canada, notified under section 270 that the foreign national may have been a person prescribed under section 258.1 or a person who did not hold an electronic travel authorization when one was required under section 7.01 or 7.1.

• Marginal note:Liability

  (3) If no submissions are made within the 30-day period, the assessment is final and the commercial transporter is liable for the assessment at the end of that period.

• Marginal note:Liability

  (4) If the Minister confirms an assessment under subsection (2), the commercial transporter is liable for the assessment on the date the notice is sent.

Marginal note:Security

• 283 (1) The Minister may, on the basis of the following factors, require a commercial transporter to provide security for compliance with its obligations under paragraphs 148(1)(a) to (g) of the Act:

  • (a) the frequency and regularity of arrival, or anticipated arrival, of the transporter’s vehicles carrying persons to Canada;

  • (b) the number of persons carried, or anticipated to be carried, to Canada aboard the transporter’s vehicles;

  • (c) whether the transporter has carried an inadmissible foreign national to Canada; and

  • (d) the anticipated risk of inadmissible foreign nationals being carried to Canada by the transporter.

• Marginal note:Amount of security

  (2) If the Minister requires security to be provided, the Minister shall determine the amount of security on the basis of the following factors:

  • (a) the commercial transporter’s record of compliance with the Act; and

  • (b) the anticipated risk of inadmissible foreign nationals being carried to Canada by the transporter and the estimated removal costs.

• Marginal note:Form of security

  (3) A commercial transporter who is required to provide security must provide it in the form of a cash deposit unless

  • (a) the transporter has entered into a memorandum of understanding referred to in subsection 280(2) that provides for another form of security; and

  • (b) the transporter demonstrates that there is no significant risk of a debt not being paid if they were to provide another form of security.

• Marginal note:Return of security

  (4) If the Minister determines on the basis of the factors set out in subsection (1) that security is no longer required, the Minister shall return the security to the commercial transporter.